When asked what could be done to help at-risk youth, a Toronto police officer suggested keeping kids at school well into the evening. Catherine Parsonage and her colleagues at the Toronto Foundation for Student Success (TFSS) took his advice to heart, offering middle school students a place to go during the after-school window when they’re believed to be the most vulnerable.

The organization, along with the Toronto District School Board’s Model Schools for Inner Cities, launched a program called beyond 3:30, which helps Toronto kids with their homework and provides opportunities to play sports and learn about cooking and nutrition until 7:30 p.m. every school day. With help from Rogers Youth Fund, the program aims to help students develop social skills while improving their self-esteem.

We asked Catherine, who is the organization’s executive director and C.E.O., to speak with us about the great work done by the Toronto Foundation for Student Success. Here’s what she had to say:

What is the Toronto Foundation for Student Success?

We’re the independent charitable organization of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), and our mission is to remove barriers to success in school for students.  We work where we feel we can make the most difference. At beyond 3:30, for instance, our goal is to keep vulnerable youth safe and engaged after school so that they don’t have to look for somewhere else to belong.  When young folks get the help and the space they need to complete their homework they feel better about themselves.  When they get to “blow off some steam” after school by participating in physical activity and then get to prepare and eat nutritious food together, not only are they healthier but they are happier.  They develop interpersonal skills, become part of a community where they feel they belong and are less inclined to join gangs.  Research shows that the time between the end of school and 7:30 p.m. each evening is when our youth are most at risk.

How has Rogers Youth Fund helped beyond 3:30?

Rogers Youth Fund has given us the gift of paid teacher-trained staff, who provide, among other things, at least 60 minutes of homework help each day. These are recent grads with teacher training, who often grew up in the same neighborhoods as the students and share a cultural background with our kids. In addition, Rogers Youth Fund provides us with tablets which students use to research their homework.

Funding from Rogers Communications has also given us the ability to participate in a major research project which will follow beyond 3:30 students over a seven-year period. The TDSB’s Research Department is analyzing the impact of our beyond 3:30 program, which requires that we collect an extensive amount of data. Thanks to Rogers, we’ve been able to hire a research assistant to gather that data. Early results are exciting: in the first phase of the study, 70 per cent of students participating in the beyond 3:30 program reported their marks have increased. Other indications lead us to believe that even more encouraging results could be announced shortly.

How many children participate in the program?
At any given time we have 1,200 middle school children involved in our program. Over 5,000 students in 13 schools have come through the program over the last four years. We believe strongly in this program and are excited to think about how it will help transform the reality of children in our neighbourhoods.

How could a program like beyond 3:30 change our community?

If we can keep our young people from feeling disenfranchised and from joining gangs, then we all win.  If we can help our young people complete their homework and succeed in school, then we all win.  If our youth are healthier, then we all win.  And if our young people are connected to their school communities and to each other in positive ways, then this can only benefit the wider community and make our city healthier.